Sweden: Jewish leaders warn of antisemitism within the Left Party
Eight new candidates have been removed from the party lists after revelations concerning antisemitic theories, support for Hamas, or praise for Vladimir Putin
The Official Council of Jewish Communities in Sweden has renewed its warnings about what it considers to be "structural" antisemitism within the Swedish Left Party, the Vänsterpartiet.
This new alert comes after the exclusion of eight additional candidates from the party's electoral lists. According to the daily Expressen and several regional media outlets, internal and journalistic investigations revealed that some had spread antisemitic conspiracy theories, expressed their support for Hamas, or praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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According to the public radio Sveriges Radio, 33 candidates have now been excluded from the party for various reasons, including antisemitism, Holocaust denial, support for terrorism, homophobia, and the defense of authoritarian regimes.
Aron Verständig, president of the Official Council of Jewish Communities in Sweden, recalled that his organization had already criticized the Left Party in the autumn of 2024, reproaching it for not sufficiently distancing itself from antisemitic remarks made by some of its officials.
According to him, the expulsions decided by the leadership had then sparked strong resistance within the political party.
"It became clear to me that the problems of antisemitism within the party were not limited to a few individuals, but were structural," he wrote on X.
Aron Verständig acknowledges that the Left Party has sanctioned several people after revelations were published in the media. However, he reproaches the party for never having launched, to his knowledge, its own thorough investigation into its representatives.
“It is simply frightening that the situation could have gone this far,” he said, also expressing concern that other political parties might consider governing with the Left Party.